Blinded by the Light
by Quik
Summary: Akane is injured after an attack by her fan club. Romance, humor and chaos. Ranma&Akane.
1. Default Chapter

Blinded By the Light - Chapter 1 

The members of the elite ATAC, or the Akane Tendo Appreciation Club, were meeting again (pronounced attack!, usually with a yell for emphasis on importance and amusement for those not involved). Their last attempt at a date with Akane Tendo gone seriously wrong with bodies thrown to new distant locations (some members were still missing). Again they regrouped for a new plan which would consist of the hopefulness as any glorious new scheme could contain and the lack of creativity as they would stick with the same old plan again. Which would fail, as always, as each member decided they deserved a date with Akane more than another member and would break rank to run full throttle into an outstretched fist of the beloved goddess Tendo. 

But for now, the grouped shared their experiences of the last melee. "Wow, did you see how she sent me flying up into that tree? I think she chose that one because it has the most beautiful blossoms on it," he sighed, lost in some twisted romantic daydream. 

Another boy snorted, "Ha, that's nothing. When she punched me in the cheek, she left an impression of her fist," he pointed to the injury while a couple members checked it out with admiration. 

"Well, I got a piece of her hair," a triumphant new member, Kouga, held up his prize with a cocky grin. 

"No way!" and "Let me see that!" rang through the hall as Kouga was trampled and the hair was quickly grabbed from his tight grasp. It was handed to the revered vice-president who at one-time shared a lunch with Akane back in second grade. He took the piece between his thumb and finger to pinch the strand. Then he held it to the light before waffing it under his nose. 

After a pause he announced his verdict, "This is a fake." 

Several angry glares shot through Kouga who put up a defense, "N-n-no, it's real. It has to be real." 

"Kouga, you may have some followers in this club but you'll never gain true power here with such acts of fraud." 

"I got this from her seat!" 

The VP shrugged, "That means nothing. It could have easily been dropped by her friends or another student." 

Kouga opened his mouth but never was allowed for another protest as the VP whipped out a microscope and placed the hair under its light. "Look closely, see how it was cut. How neatly the edge is snipped away. This was done by a professional. Akane's hair is cut by her older sister Kasumi who does not have the training for such a trim. Her cut is more of a shear than a neatly broken strand of hair." 

"Ahhhhhh..." everyone nodded their head in agreement with the ultimate wisdom of the VP as they pushed to see the evidence for themselves. 

With his discreditation complete, Kouga slunk back to the corner of the room as the other members ignored him. Kouga gritted his teeth as the VP gave him a smug look. [He's thinks he's so good. Finding loop holes in every piece of treasure I bring.] He watched the VP's godlike smile as the other members hung to every word he said even before he started retelling the same old story of a lunch with Akane Tendo. The VP seemed pleased that his followers were worshipping him appropriately. 

[Damn him. Someday, someday Gohei. I'll have your power and we'll see how you like to be alone in the corner.] He felt laughter bubble up in him that wanted to escape as deranged screams of happiness as thoughts of a disgraced Gohei passed through his mind. However, he noticed other fellow classmates tended to get nervous when he laughed that way, especially when he's not talking to anybody but himself, so he quickly stifled it. 

Disgusted at the thought of having to hear once again how Gohei briefly touched Akane's hand when she passed him a straw, Kouga drew further back in the room only to catch sight of someone working at a desk. Kouga smirked and immediately stalked to the boy intending to vent some of his frustration out on him by removing him from the room. Preferably by force. "Hey, this is a members only club, boy. Pack up your stuff and get out!" 

"I'm a member," the boy said softly not stopping his work. 

Kouga looked him up and down taking note of the small frame size and lack of muscles. "Yeah, right. Only students who are able to FIGHT for the love of Akane Tendo can be a member. You don't look like you could bench press ten pounds." 

"Really?" again the answer was barely heard as the boy turned around to pick up a few tools and worked again at the strange contraption on the desk. 

"Uh, yeah..." Kouga was used to having people's full focus or none at all. Especially when he's trying to insult them. Having only half of the boy's attention was confusing at first but then Kouga decided that it was REALLY annoying and he'd just have to teach this little twerp the meaning of respect. Yeah, that's it. "So you better get outta here now or I'm gonna kick your ass." 

The boy now had his back to Kouga and stopped moving about once the threat was given. Kouga was about to pat himself on the back for scaring the hell out of the geek when the boy turned around and yelled, "IT'S FINISHED!!" 

Kouga was thrown back five feet after getting hit from the arms which swung wildly upwards with the proclamation. [Guess the little twerp's got some muscle after all.] Gohei stopped his story for a second to glare at the boy for interrupting but then continued on as he noticed audience was still held in rapture. The boy was oblivious to all that as he quickly began to explain to the nearest person WHAT exactly he had done, at a pace that would put a tinker gnome on a caffeine high to shame (***for those D&D fans, you know what I mean***) This unfortunate soul happened to be Kouga. "This is a High-Quality-External-Automatic-Focus- Battery-Powered-Single-Lense-Multiple-Flash-Setting-Single-Exposure- Adjustable-Zoom-Varied-Speed-Three-Dimensional-Picture-Taker, or as I hope to patent, the HQEAFBPSLMFSSEAZVSTDPT! Iwasgoingtotrytohaveittakemultiple picturesbutIcouldn'tgetthe HQEAFBPSLMFSSEAZVSTDPTtodomuchafterthefirst explosionespeciallyafterallthepowerthatwentintotheflashthatwasquietsuprising itnearlyremovedhalfmyhousetoanewlocationsoIhaditbolteddownagainandthecat willneverhavehairgrowthesamewayagain..." 

Kouga saw the inventor take a breath and decided now would be a good time to ask a question before he started up again. "It's a camera?" 

"Ohnoit'smuchmorethanacamerawithitscapacityto..." 

Kouga grabbed the boy by the collar. "Look. I'm a simple guy. I like simple answers at normal talking speeds. Got that?" 

"Yes," croaked out the boy. 

"Name?" Kouga asked more for curiosity than courtesy. 

"Makoto," replied the still intimidated inventor. 

"Hmm, so, Makoto, this thing here is a camera?" Kouga picked up the heavy piece of equipment which creaked slightly in protest at the movement. 

Makoto eyes fearfully watched every motion and touch Kouga placed on his engineered child, praying it would return with no damage unlike some of his other inventions in the much larger hands of his smaller brained classmates. "Yes." 

"So what's so special about it?" 

Makoto was never used to people asking him questions before. Usually halfway through his name introduction they walked away. Maybe this time he came up with a crowd pleasing name. "Unlike the conventional camera which can only take two dimensional pictures my HQ.." the fist in Makoto's collar curled a little tighter and he wisely decided to keep it short and straight, "uh, my camera takes three dimensional pictures." 

"3-D, huh?" Kouga set the camera back down none too gently along with Makoto, giving Makoto's heart a leap as he quickly examined his invention for damage. 

Kouga was disappointed. He had hoped it was something special. Something that would retrieve a part of Akane Tendo that no one else had. Like her book bag or her shoe. That would give him status beyond Gohei and then he could make him suffer. Oh, yes would he make Gohei suffer. Kouga wasn't sure how but he'd figure something out. 

With his excitement of beating up the geek gone, Kouga's eyes traveled for the next entertainment. They came to rest on the hall case holding every precious collectible the club had managed to find over the years. Well, more like what they stole or what the feared Nabiki sold to them. There was an old sweatband from P.E. class, a scrap of paper with part of her signature, many pictures and the most valuable item...a glass that once held liquid for the lips of the vibrant goddess they worshipped. 

Kouga looked more closely at the pictures framed in the back. Most were barely recognizable at best. A foot or fist was usually blocking most of the view but if one looked hard enough a bit of blue-blackish hair could be seen. One even caught part of a scowl before a heel cut off the rest of the picture as a well placed kick was about to ask the photographer to reconsider his focus. 

It was at this point the gears in the mind of Kouga stared to smoke, slip and grind. [3-D camera. 3-D camera. 3-D...] An audible *bing!* sounded off in Kouga's head as the gears came to a crashing halt and another great plan was born. 

If only he could stop his maniacal laughter, he would tell the others. 

---------------------------------------------------------------- 

"Kouga, are you sure about this? I mean, we've never done this before. Isn't this breaking of the sacred code of ATAC?" whispered a boy. 

Kouga pushed the brush aside to answer. "My friend. That's what has held us back. This is a war of love and to win we must strike when she leasts expects it." 

The boy blinked a couple of times thinking maybe he was talking to Kuno instead of Kouga but then, Kuno would never be so underhanded. He was simply too stupid to come up with a plan. 

Kouga shrugged, "Besides, women love surprises." The boy nodded his head doubtfully before the now released branches backhanded him across the face like punishment for questioning their leader. 

"Makoto! Where are you?" Kouga turned to find the gangly little runt huddling over his precious equipment. "You all set?" 

"No, I need to set up the HQEAFBP...," Kouga's eyes darkened briefly in impatience, "ah, the camera. I told you it takes five minutes for it to warm up once it's on the stand. Plus it's never been tested, I don't know..." 

"Well, that's what we're here for. We'll try and get a date, however, if for some strange reason she refuses our requests, we'll get a good picture of her which I can...I mean, which WE can add to the collection. Just make sure you set that thing up fast." 

"Ah, excuse me, sir," one of Kouga's braver lackeys spoke up. The rest remained wide-eyed since this was the first time they had heard of the plan and what business they had hiding in the bushes shortly outside of the school. "but, ah...our longest dating competition is about four minutes...and that's with the whole gang. What if Ranma is with her?" 

"So what if Ranma is with her? He usually stands back and watches anyways." Kouga could still see doubt in their eyes. "Look, we're trying to get a picture of the goddess in her best form. Her magnificence shines most brightly when she fights, is this not true?" 

Branches and leafs found new residence in Kouga's hair as he quickly stood to finish his empowering speech. "Do her cheeks not flush? Does her skin not glow? Do her eyes not burn? Do her fists not hurt?" 

The some boys were able to nod their heads while others glazed off into a remembered picture of her glorious fury. 

"Capture the splendor of the phoenix in an angel and fight beside me!" The boys gave a shout and began to chant Kouga's name. Kouga stood smugly basking in the warmth of his power. That's when he caught a sliver of a blue uniform coming around the corner. 

Kouga gave the warning signal. "Shut up and hide!" The shrubs rustled as twenty boys tried to hide in three small bushes. 

Akane came humming around the corner. [This is promising. No Ranma.] Kouga thought. Akane then stopped short of their hiding spot. "What are you idiots doing?" she asked with exasperation. 

Kouga stepped out of hiding while pushing Makoto to move to his spot to make his preparations. He decided to use his smooth talking to charm Akane over to his side. A move not made by any member except Kuno thus far. "Ah, well we're just...well, we're just sitting around and, ah...and doing things which involve...um, sitting. Here. Under the bushes." 

Akane blinked at first trying to figure out how Kouga got so many leaves in his hair and why they were there. Then she blinked again trying to translate what Kouga was saying since it didn't answer her question and he had this cocky 'I'm soooo good' grin on his face. However, her confusion was quickly resolved by one of the more excited members who cried, "GET HER!" 

Kouga cursed under his breath as twenty members raced to fight for the hand of Akane Tendo. He had hope that his brillant social skills would work so that no fight was needed. He did have a handsome face to protect after all. But free good help was hard to find. 

He tried to charge the girl, rushing along with his gang, screaming words of love and askance. But even before the first boy could reach her Akane had thrown her book bag into the two attackers behind her and was uppercutting a third into a tree. It hadn't been three seconds. 

"Makoto, hurry!" cried Kouga as he felt a kick send him flying back. The shout brought the full attention of Akane to focus as she glared at Makoto and the machine he had in his hands. 

Akane leaped over the downed boy using his back for a boost getting closer to Makoto. Makoto never had a girl look at him like that before. Heck, he never had a girl look at him period. He was too absorbed into his inventions. But here was the fiery goddess, staring him down, screaming cries of rage as she bashed one attacker over the head and elbowed another behind her. He never even imagined what it would feel like to have an angry woman aiming her emotions directly at him. It justly scared the hell out of him. 

Makoto heard the whine of the camera as it began to power up, never taking his eyes off Akane. Every second she was a step closer to Makoto with angry determination in her eyes. His legs and mind were screaming to run but he was too caught up in his own fear to move. Bodies were beginning to be thrown near his vicinity, like she was trying to hit him with one of his fellow classmates. He was oblivious to that too, as he turned knobs and pushed buttons ignoring whatever labels he had meticulously placed on his machine. The high pitch whine suddenly grew much louder and Makoto stared with his dry mouth slightly open at the girl twenty feet from him. 

"I said NO! Why don't you LEAVE!" *PUNCH* 

"ME!" *KICK* 

"ALONE!" *SLAM* 

Three only slightly injured boys with sporting equipment raced to contain her but Akane would have none of it. Using the baseball bat as a jumping board, she back-kicked the boy holding it, then with the momentum from her jump, she landed on the shoulders of the two boys in front, slamming them to the ground. However, before their faces hit the pavement Akane leaped off their descending bodies to make a grab for Makoto and the strange contraption which was most likely a trap. 

Makoto sucked in a breath as he saw Akane arc towards him. He stared as she seem to float momentary in the air then began a rapid dropped aimed for him. In his panicked state, his fingers managed to save him by slowly depressing the red button. A second later all was white and he couldn't hear his own scream. 

-------------------------------------------------- 

Outside the gate all was quiet. Ranma was now two hours late getting home and in a bad mood. "Stupid Kuno," Ranma grumbled under his breath. The upperclassman caught him on the way out of school, shoving his bokken stick in Ranma's general direction proclaiming he was a foul evil sorcerer and demanding another fight to win the love of Akane and the pig-tailed goddess. Well, at least that's what Ranma assumed. It was usually what Kuno was babbling about. Luckily, a head bandage covering a fist impact wound made by Akane's morning free for all fight muffled most of the speech. Ranma was surprised Kuno was able to stand. Of course, this only proved Ranma's theory of the hardness of Kuno's brain. 

The fight, if one could call it that, was over quickly. And as Ranma's luck would have it, a misplaced bokken strike to a nearby fire hydrant sent a cold spray of water over Ranma's body as he knocked Kuno out. Not willing to stay cold and wet all the way home, he ran to the gym for a quick shower and a change of clothes. Unfortunately, things were never that simple for him and he had to fight Shampoo briefly to get her to leave him alone. Which was difficult since she was all soaped up. 

He shuddered, though from what he didn't quite know. After Ranma slid on a bar of soap and crashed into the tiled wall rendering him barely coherent, she said something to him of which he replied "uh" to. It was about the only thing he could say until the bright spots dancing in his eyes went away. In any case, it must have been a good answer because she happily clapped her hands together, threw on clothes that came from no where and bounded out of the showers saying something about tonight. 

He sighed rubbing a spot on his head. If Shampoo was happy at his response it was bad for him, and a problem just delayed for later tonight for which he was going to get malleted for sure. Ah, well it got rid of her for now and that's all that ma... 

The normal sunny sidewalk changed dramatically as Ranma rounded the corner. Bushes were blown flat and scorched until only a few crisp leaves remained. Dark ash lines on the wall, almost like claw scratchings, marked the wall. Some of those marks were broken as if something had rested there during its making. Spider web cracks blotted the brick fence and the sidewalk caused by something, or someone, hitting the brick and cement hard and heavy. Even a nearby tree had lost some of its branches, a few of the larger ones poked up over the ditch to the left. The tree's normally brown bark, blacken except for an outline in the near the roots which looked untouched by whatever had happened. Bits of debris were everywhere. The marks and the crushed bushes all aimed like an arrow to a dark splattering of a half circle. It resembled the aftermath of a Happo Daikarin. 

[Whoa...Whatever had happened here was big.] He scratched his head as he commented aloud to himself. "Geez, how didn't I get involved with this?" However, even as he said it, he knew. It didn't matter what it was, who it was, or if anybody cared. If it was strange and/or something dangerous, Ranma Saotome was involved. 

Ranma kneeled down to the half circle, tracing an outline with his finger. [It looks like an explosion went off right here.] However, he hadn't heard anything. No pack of gawking people lined to see what calamity had struck Furiken High once more. No excited whispers from the clubs finishing up their day as he had left. No Nabiki with that 'I know something you don't and you'll pay for it to know' smile as she left for home after Ranma's fight. How could so many people not hear something so destructive as this? 

The wind wrapped around him as he stared at the markings. A small jingle of metal, like a miniature wind chime, played to the breeze behind him in the remains of the chaos. Turning on his heel, Ranma's eyes caught a strange lump sitting under the bushes. It was a bag. Or at least that's what he thought it was but it now contained several holes from burn marks and ashed over like most of the area. As he lifted it from the ground he heard the small tinkle of a bell that made the hairs on his neck raise. Turning the bag around he could make out a small melted black mess. The bell had remained intact but the plastic had run into a drop of barely distinguishable features. However, it was enough for Ranma to recognize the running black with yellow mixed in at the top. P-chan. It was the P-chan charm that Ryouga gave to Akane. Akane. AKANE!! 

"AKANE!" Ranma yelled. Where was she? Was she here when this blasted went off? Is she...no, he would not think about that. Ranma's heart pumped loud and strong making his teeth ache. His body tense for a fight with breathes coming in short quick gasps. 

"Akane!" he shouted again looking for some clue as to where she was. Nothing more in the bushes, nothing in his sight...he needed a better view of the surroundings. Ranma quickly stepped up to the burnt tree and looked at the damage. There was a sizeable crack mark on it but after a test kick it seemed stable enough. It was good enough proof for Ranma and he began to climb the tree. He hadn't gotten to the first branch when it began to creak and jerk towards the extra weight of Ranma who swore under his breath. Before making a leap down to stop himself from being crushed, Ranma spotted a blue piece of fabric waving over the side of the ditch. Jumping down, he ran towards that one small signal, ignoring the crash of the tree which almost clipped him and came to a complete stop at the edge of the ditch. His breath stopped and his ears could only hear the pounding of his heart as his mind dizzily whooshed through the scene giving a surreal feeling to the picture before him. 

The ditch was no more than five feet deep with a gentle slope into the creek below. As with a lot of places in Nerima it was fairly clean with but a few gum wrappers and other papers that had made its way there. Grass grew and was well cared for by the grounds keeper. It was a healthy thick green, pillowing the body now laying on it. The blue swirl of a school uniform rippled with a passing wind, giving an artificial sign of life to the stillness. From where he stood Ranma could make out dark smudges intermixed with red angry rashes and blisters on bare skin. The uniform itself was torn and burnt through around the edges. The dark blue of her hair copied the movements of the uniform as it danced. She looked peaceful, quiet, and so unlike Akane with her eyes closed and her arms spread wide like she was accepting an embrace. 

"Akane?" Ranma whispered afraid he might wake her from such a serene state and more afraid that she might not. 

Stumbling down to her, Ranma dropped to the ground and gently picked her up, not bothering to check for signs of life. She was strong and so she was alive. He would not accept an alternative. With all his training focused in running, Ranma tore down the streets of Nerima to the first place his mind could think of for help. 

He slammed open the door with an elbow. "Dr. Tofu!" 

Dr. Tofu jumped from his seat as a pale Ranma cradled Akane in his arms. "Ranma, what?" 

"Please, Dr. Tofu. Help her." Ranma lifted Akane as if to hand her over. His whole body was trembling and drew shaky breaths that had nothing to do with his recent run. 

"Set her down here," Tofu pointed to the patient bed. Quickly he began to check vitals and examine the red rashes on her arms. "What happened?" 

Ranma clenched a fist, "I don't know. It looks like it was an explosion." As Tofu continued his examination, Ranma stared at Akane's face willing her to wake up and bash him over the head for being a pervert for touching her. 

"Well, she seems to be OK with the exception of some burns and maybe a minor concussion. Her chi is a little strange too. Though I can't place what is wrong, it doesn't seem serious." Ranma released a heavy breath of relief. "Keep watch over her, I'm going to get some salve for those burns. If she wakes up, don't let her fall back asleep, OK?" 

Ranma merely nodded, still gazing at Akane's face. [She's OK.] He told himself. Repeating the phrase over and over so that his mind would accept it. If she was yelling at him for being an idiot, he would have believed it. But she was so still. 

"So you're going to be alright. Huh, I knew you were as strong as a gorilla or an ox or..." the insults trailed off as Akane's face remained in the same peaceful expression. 

"Come on, Akane, you stupid tomboy. It's no fun to insult ya if you can't hear me. Wake up." He poked her arm gently, trying to invoke a respond. "Come on. Open your eyes." When nothing happened, his hand wavered for a moment then slowly curled around her fingers. "Please." 

Akane drew in a slow deep breath; her head stirred to the side and Ranma quickly let go of her hand. "Akane?" he asked hesitantly. 

"Mmmm." Akane groaned putting her hand over her closed eyes a giving a slight squeeze. "Ranma?" 

"Yeah," Ranma couldn't help but smile, happy to see her awake and not under some amnesia shampoo potion. 

"What happened?" her voice croaked slightly like she had a bad cold but it was strong. 

Ranma frowned. [Maybe she is under an amnesia shampoo potion.] "I don't know, Akane. You tell me." 

With her hand still over her eyes, rubbing her temples, she tried to piece together the last moments she could remember. "I was walking home and was attacked. A...a machine or something. I don't know what it was but...There was light. Lots of it and no sound. That's all I really remember." 

Anger fired strong in the pit of Ranma's stomach as fingernails left an impression in his palm, almost drawing blood. Someone was going to pay. Instead he pushed that thought aside, he would have tomorrow to hunt down the guilty. He had other things to worry about now. Like Soun's demon head for instance. "Well, it's a good thing you have that tomboy endurance." 

"What did you say Ranma?" the usual irritation seemingly clearing away all weakness and injury. 

Ranma smiled as he watched the strong tomboy make a quick recovery, leaning forward a little so she would have easy access to mallet him. "Uh, that you possess the endurance of an ox?" If nothing else, at least it would make HIM feel better. 

Akane growled, sitting up quickly. "Ranma! You...." She sat staring at the wall at the end of the bed, blinking. Ranma glanced to wall to see what was so fascinating that it would stop Akane in mid-tirade but it was just a wall. Not even one of those informative yet boring medical posters filled the space. Looking back to Akane, she rubbed her eyes and blinked again at the wall, scrunching her brows as if to center in on some small speck that only she could see. But her pupils were so wide and unfocused, it seemed like she...that she couldn't... 

"Ranma?" He felt his heart beat trip for a second at the strange tone in her voice. It was something he had heard maybe once or twice before and he hated it. "Why are the lights all off?" 

"They're not off..." He meant to add another jab, something off hand like 'dumb tomboy' or the like but it just wouldn't roll off his tongue which stuck to the roof of his mouth. It was probably held down by the heavy weight in his stomach which said something was very wrong. If Dr. Tofu would just hurry up and come back, he'd fix everything. 

Akane's head dropped sharply, her chin almost on her chest as her shaking hands rose to an inch from her face. Ranma wished that heavy weight in his stomach would go away. Akane's fine, right? Dr. Tofu said so. But the look on Akane's face....her eyes were so distant. "Akane?" 

Her head snapped up at the name and as Akane closed her hands letting them drop slowly, she turned to Ranma with blank dark eyes. "I...I can't see." 


	2. Blinded by the Light_Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Blinded By the Light

Synopsis:  Kouga and Makoto are members of ATAC! (Akane Tendo Appreciation 

Club).  Kouga decides he's going to use Makoto's new invention (and Makoto for 

that matter) to get a 3-D picture of their goddess to prove himself the better 

man in ATAC!.  However, things didn't go as planned and Akane is blinded in the 

process.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They all met in under the bridge not far from the school.  Kouga stood leaning 

against one the supports looking over his troops.  All of them had been lucky to 

escape with only some burns and abrasions from the explosion.  Unlike their 

goddess Akane.  He had seen her magnificent leap to Makoto before the light 

blinded them all momentarily.  The next thing he remembered was extracting 

himself from a wall and Akane was no where in sight.  The chaos began after 

that.  It was every boy for himself as they realized their idol had just been 

vaporized.

He managed to get the message around to all of them to meet here before class.  

But now what?

Unlike the last meeting, no one was talking.  Everyone felt the breath of death 

against their necks.  It was an unsettling silence broken by someone who had the 

guts to ask the important question, "Is it true?  Is she dead?"

One of the members shook his head.  "No, she's alive but hurt.  I saw her with 

Ranma, walking home yesterday."

Some of the boys let out a whoop of joy and chatted excitedly amongst 

themselves.  Guessing what they would do for the next battle round.  Kouga, 

however, did not feel relief with the good news cuz a dead man can't date.  The 

fact that he was still walking around today could only mean that Akane was 

unable to identify her attackers for whatever reason.  But when Ranma found out 

who he was, who any of them were.…Ranma may say he doesn't want anything to do 

with her but if Akane was hurt or in trouble he was fiercely protective of her.

"Ranma is going to kill us," a boy fearfully whispered Kouga's own thoughts.

"Ah, come on.  Ranma figure out who did this?  There's no way he could know, we 

left no clues as to our identities," said a member from the back of the group.

"True, but..." Kouga lightly punched his classmate in the shoulder who howled in 

pain.  "We all have burns and bruises, granted most are covered but they can 

still be detected by accident.  Ranma might not put two and two together but 

Nabiki could."

Shudder runs through the group at the thought of dealing with Nabiki.  Then a 

shouting match erupted.

"So what do we do?"

"We could live in the sewers until this whole thing blows over."

"How about becoming wanderers?"

"Or pirates!"

"Door to door salesmen?"

"Let's make it easy and commit suicide!  You first!"

Kouga felt dizzy with all the suggestions ringing under the cove of the bridge.  

"Shut-up!"  They instantly froze, "There's something better we could do."

"What's that?"

Kouga rubbed his temples in hopes of massaging a good plan out of his head.  His 

followers were on the verge of bolting to the four corners of the earth, but if 

he wanted to survive he needed them here.  Even if the only use of they could 

provide was to wear down the punches of Ranma before the martial artist got to 

him.  At least it was something of a benefit to him, something he'd like to 

keep.  

Damn.  The VP made it look so easy when coming up with a plan.  Thinking was 

just not what he did.  He was the brawn, so where was he going to get brains?

The same clatter of gears being over worked lit up his eyes as he looked to 

Makoto.  He went over to the smaller boy and put his arm around him in a 

friendly manner, "Makoto has a plan."

"I...I do?"

Kouga squeezed his embrace a little to which Makoto quickly grasp the situation. 

 "Oh, yes, yes, of course I do."  Makoto nodded his head so fast and hard it 

looked almost like a seizure.

"So what's the plan?"

Makoto looked to Kouga for a clue but Kouga merely looked back at him.  "Um, 

well, I need to consult with my cousin first.  He has something we can use."  [I 

hope.]  Makoto added to himself.

The crowd seemed to accept that someone was handling the problem, someone with 

smarts, so they weren't going to be obliterated in mere moments.  "What do we do 

in the mean time?"

Kouga knew the answer to that one, "Just act normal.  The ATAC! meeting is still 

to be held after class as usual.  Talk to no one about any of this, not even 

other members of ATAC!  Got that?"  Kouga waved a fist menacingly and all numbly 

shook their head in agreement.  "Good.  Dismissed."

The demeanor of the boys had changed completely from when they first arrived 

under the bridge.  As they walked to the school most laughed and talked about 

the day ahead.  Kouga smirked at this.  He had them back under his control 

again.

Waiting until the last classmate disappeared over the hill of the ditch, Kouga 

then turned to Makoto, "So what's the plan, pipsqueak?"

Makoto knew he should have left ATAC! and stayed with the Science Club when he 

had the chance.  Now he was stuck under the thumb of an idiot and in big trouble 

with a certain martial artist who could most certainly wipe the floor with any 

of them.  "I don't have one."

"What you mean?"

"I told you I don't have one," Makoto replied softly.

"I thought you just said you had one!" growled Kouga.

Makoto felt nervous.  An upset Kouga was not something he could handle, at least 

not alone.  "Well, not really.  I mean, going to my cousin's and seeing if he 

has anything in mind is the only thing I could think of at the moment."

Kouga threw up his hands in exasperation.  Good help was so hard to find.  

"Fine, where can we find this cousin of yours?"

Makoto pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from his school bag and wrote an 

address down before giving it to Kouga.  "Here.  Meets us there at 7 pm."  He 

then picked up his bag a ran towards the school as they both heard the late bell 

ringing.

"What a minute!  What's this guys name?"

"Gosunkugi Hiraku!" Makoto called over his shoulder.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday was a bad day, today promises to be worse and tomorrow isn't looking 

good either.  Everyone had been so quiet when he and Akane had gotten home 

yesterday.  Well, expect Mr. Tendo who cycled through crying puddles to 

screaming threats at Ranma for not protecting his precious daughter.  Kasumi 

eventually got him to quiet down before Ranma punched his so-called future 

father-in-law.  However, that didn't hold him back when his old man spoke up.

Stupid father.  Like he would ever purposely let Akane get hurt.  Sure she was 

an annoying tomboy who didn't know her own strength or lack of cooking skills 

but she didn't deserve this.

He looked to his left where Akane sat.  She looked fine except for her blank 

stare and a bit of darkness under her eyes.  The few burns she received were 

healing fast and were mostly hidden by the school uniform.  Kasumi had helped 

her get dressed and was even now spooning breakfast into Akane's mouth.  Akane, 

for her part, sat obediently while being served but didn't look to happy about 

it.  In fact, if it wasn't Kasumi doing the force feed, Akane might have blown 

up.  Which was why their fathers had tried to get Ranma to do the honors and why 

he absolutely refused.  He wasn't a caretaker.  He had a different job in mind 

that suited him much better.

Ranma drew his eyes away from the sight as he curled his fist tightly under the 

table.  That raw blast of anger pulsed through him again.  It was the same fire 

that almost made him jump up from Dr. Tofu's to go hunt down those involved with 

yesterday's...incident.  Someone was going to pay.  No one hurts Akane and gets 

away with it.  He'd make sure of that.

Not that Akane was special to him or anything.  He'd do the same for anyone he 

cared...Ranma shoved another mouthful of food in his mouth and decided to just 

drop his line of thought.

"So Akane, what do you think you're going to do today?" asked Nabiki knowing 

full and well what her little sister was planning.

"I'm going to school like all people my age should," she replied in a 

matter-of-fact voice.

"Oh, Akane.  I don't know if you should."  Kasumi said worriedly.

"Why not?" a hint of challenge glimmered in Akane's tone.

"You're blind," Nabiki bluntly said.

"So?"

With a roll of eyes and a bit of a exasperated huff, Nabiki tried to break the 

news to Akane, "Things are not going to be the same.  I mean, how are you going 

to walk to school?"

"With my own two feet," replied Akane stubbornly.

"Well, that's great.  So you're just going to walk down the street."

"Yes."

"And make all the correct turns at the correct corners."

"I know my way.  I can count my turns and blocks."

"And not trip over holes or steps."

"I'll walk slowly."

"And avoid other people, not to mention the fast moving cars and crossing at 

appropriate times."

"I can hear them coming."

"And make it to school in 15 minutes?"

Akane bit her lip on that one, "So I'll be a little late the first day.  I'll 

just get up earlier tomorrow."

"Oh, Akane.  This doesn't sound like a good idea.  Why don't you let Ranma pick 

up your school work and you take the day off," Kasumi offered.

"No!  I said I can do this and I will."  Even Ranma recognized the cross armed 

determination of Akane.  Once she did that, there was no one who would talk her 

into doing otherwise.  Not that it didn't stop some people from trying.

"Oh, my youngest is going to be road-kill!" Soun sobbed into his hands while the 

panda offered a light pat on the back for comfort.  When he received no other 

sympathy to his plight, Soun played the Jeckle and Hyde routine.

"RANMA!"  The young martial artist jumped back five feet as the over protective 

father turned his fury on his daughter's supposed fiancée.  "You are responsible 

for her safety!  Do you understand?"

"S...sure, Mr. Tendo."  Damn, he could be scary when he wanted to be.

Soun returned to the waterfall of sorrow with a blink of an eye, "Oh, Akane, 

Akane." 

"Like I need HIS help," snapped Akane.

"Ha, you needed every bit of help you could get even before...," Ranma pointed 

his hand out towards her but could not find the right wording and decided to 

avoid mentioning it directly.  It just seemed wrong.  "You always were a klutz."

The room dropped in temperature compared to the heat emanating off Akane, "What 

did you say, Ranma?  Care to repeat that?"

Ranma began to do so when he was hit from behind by Nabiki's book bag.  "Hurry 

up, or you're going to be late."

With a glare, he gulped his last bit of food and ran upstairs to grab his own 

bag.  Nabiki never interrupted Akane and him when they had an argument.  What 

the hell was up with her?  On his way back down, he found out.  Nabiki stood two 

steps from the bottom and pinned him with an unhappy look.  It was one that 

usually meant he hadn't settled his account with her.

"What?" he asked.

"You better keep a good eye on her, Ranma.  Akane doesn't want or can't admit 

what she's getting herself into.  If she's not watched, she's going to get hurt. 

 And then I'm going to take an extra large payment out of you.  You're her 

fiancée, protect her."  Nabiki whispered low and threatening.  

Ranma's fist clenched, "Hey, I already told your dad that I'd keep an eye out 

for her."

Nabiki eyes narrowed but she said no more as Akane came slowly around the corner 

feeling her way to the door.  As per norm, Nabiki did not wait, except to give a 

hard look at Ranma and left for school.  

"Oh, Akane, don't forget your lunch."  Kasumi handed Akane her bag, placing the 

lunch inside.  

"Yes, Kasumi," she almost bit the words into existence, "and thank you for the 

lunch."  Slowly she worked her way to the door and after several minutes found 

her shoes.  Ranma could almost feel the late bells ringing.

His impatience finally got the best of him, "Come on, Akane.  Hurry up."

"I'm hurry as fast as I can Ranma!" she growled back.  

Eventually they started their way down the street at a pace that was making even 

walking backwards on his hands on the fence too boring.        

"The late bells are going to ring in just a few minutes, we'll never make it on 

time with you walking."

Akane huffed at that opinion, "Fine then, Ranma.  Go ahead without me.  I'm 

perfectly able to make it there on my own."

And for a moment, Ranma felt the urge to do just that.  One, he wouldn't have to 

put up with Akane's obviously bad temper and two, his arms would be saved the 

work of holding buckets.  But every fiber of his being told him, no.  Not to 

mention the already two clearly received threats from her family members.  "I'm 

not going to leave you here like this."

As if almost picking up his last line of thought, she asked, "Since when have 

you done what my father told you to do?"

Ranma felt that buried anger flash within him, "This doesn't have to do with 

your father!  Damn it, Akane!  You could get hit!"

Akane almost came to a halt at that, "Oh, so, you're worried about me?"

"Nah, I'm more worried about the damage you'd do to the car.  Really, if a car 

were to be unlucky enough to hit you I'm sure with your elephant strength and 

weight you would total it."

He didn't even see the mallet coming as it knocked him off the fence, down the 

bank of sharp rocks and into the canal.  Akane continued her progress to the 

school feeling slightly better as Ranma, managing to quickly pull herself from 

the water, stayed several feet behind Akane cursing tomboys everywhere.

--------------------------------------------

Class was nearly maddening for the first half of the day.  Akane, with the help 

of her friends, made her way to her assigned seat and sat.  And sat.  And sat.  

The difficulty she was going to have with her studies was now becoming clear.  

She couldn't take notes, couldn't see examples, and had to listen extra hard to 

try and retain some of what was taught.  She managed to hold down the bit of 

panic when the homework was assigned.  It was only a few pages of reading.  A 

simple task to complete yesterday but now something impossible for her current 

state.

The lunch bell rang and for that Akane was grateful.  It meant her favorite 

class, gym, was coming up soon.  Plus, for now she could forget her troubles a 

bit and relax in the presence of friends.

"So, Akane," Yuki apprehensively began, "What are you doing for summer break?"

"Oh, nothing planned yet.  Maybe we'll go to the beach or something."

"Really?  That sounds nice," Akane could almost hear the fake smile Yuki was 

wearing.  A long pause followed.

"Uh, what about you guys?  Where do you want to take a trip together?" Akane 

asked.  The three of them always took a summer weekend together since they were 

ten.  

"Well, I don't know.  I mean, is it OK?"  Sayuri spoke this time casting a 

glance at Yuki with worry in her eyes.

Yuki nodded her head slightly, "Yeah, don't you have therapy or something for 

your...condition?"

Akane felt her good spirit fade at her friends' lack of enthusiasm, "No, just 

some medication right now.  Dr. Tofu doesn't think it's permanent."

"Oh, well, that's good," though from the tone in Sayuri's voice it didn't sound 

all that good.

"Is there something wrong?  Do I have food on my lips or my hair flipped around 

crazy?"  Akane tried to joke to lighten the sense of heavy uneasiness in the 

air.

"No, no, everything is fine, Akane.  Yuki and me just have something we need to 

do and it's...distracting us.  So excuse us, we'll talk to you later."  And with 

that Akane heard them leave almost in a full tilt run.  

Her mind was spinning crazily around looking for answers.  What was wrong?  Why 

were they so quiet and uncomfortable?  She hadn't changed, well, not in a mental 

sense.  She was still their friend, wasn't she?

"Hi, Akane!" came the happy voice of Ukyou from her left.

Akane smiled, putting away her thoughts about her friends strange behavior, "Oh, 

hey Ukyou.  What's going on?"

"I just wanted to come over and say I'm sorry to hear about what happened."

"Oh, well thank you.  But luckily for me, it's not permanent.  My sight should 

return any moment now."

"That's good.  It would be even harder for you without sight."

Akane's eyebrows deepened in confusion, "Even harder?  What do you mean?"

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to bring it up.  Just something I thought about."

"And what's that?"

"Well, Ranma is a man of the stomach.  He likes his food and lots of it.  Now I 

know in the past you've had some...difficulty with the culinary arts but being 

blind would make it impossible for you to really learn."

Akane could feel herself seething, "My cooking is perfectly fine!"

"Uh, huh," Ukyo replied with disbelief then paused.  "You know, you had me the 

most worried out of anybody who's showed up claiming to be Ranma's fiancée.  

It's a shame that something like this happened.  I'm very sorry."  

Her voice then harden in determination, "But I also want to make it clear, just 

because you're blind doesn't mean I'm going to lessen up on winning Ranma."

"Fine with me."

"Good.  Now, I've got to get back to the grill.  And remember Akane, it's still 

no holds bar."

Akane couldn't believe it!  Ukyo comes over seeming to be friendly and offer a 

word of condolence only to tell her that her cooking sucks and she was going to 

take Ranma!  Well, the Ranma part didn't bother her too much.  Really it didn't. 

 Why should she care?  It's not like anything was between Ranma and herself.  

Just a stupid arrangement forced on them by parents.  But even repeating this to 

herself, distress hung on Akane's stomach.

Deciding to stop thinking on why she was so upset, Akane manage to catch the 

last few sounds of Ukyo's shoes crunching the gravel as she walked away before 

leaving Akane to the whispering.  That's what she decided to call it, THE 

whispering.  It was a continuous buzz in the background which the teacher in 

class had to call attention to several times during the morning.  Akane had to 

push down the urge to yell at them herself for she was trying to absorb as much 

as possible from the lesson and the constant hum was distracting.  Not because 

she could hear their words, but because she couldn't.

Now out in the courtyard the voices were louder and clearer.  Some were 

sympathetic, some were wild stories of how it happened, but there were others, 

the loudest voices, who made sure Akane could hear exactly what was being said.

"I think she's faking it," Akane recognized the speaker and immediately felt the 

warmth of long held dislike turning to anger.

"Shhh, Sakura, that's terrible.  Why would she do something like that?"

"Please, don't make it sound as if she doesn't have all the boys of Furiken High 

all over her.  Except one.  Ranma Saotome.  However, if she fakes an illness, 

she can play up Ranma's sense of duty.  He's been watching her all day today, 

practically hanging off her.  She's getting exactly what she wants, the little 

bitch."

"Sakura, please.  She's right over there.  I'm sure she can hear you."

"Oh, whatever.  Like she can do anything now.  She can't touch me because if she 

does her little ploy will be discovered."

"Come on.  Let's just go eat.  I'm hungry."

Sakura snorted, rolling her eyes.  They never wanted to have any fun, and 

watching Akane shake in anger but make no move was definitely fun.  She'd make 

the little wench pay.  "Yeah, sure.  Let's go."

As soon as it was quiet once again she released her fury into the ground, 

punching hard enough to cut her hand on a piece of rock sticking up from the 

earth.  The bell finally rang and Akane stood to make her way to gym class only 

to find herself being dragged by a hand.

"Hey!" she yelled at her offender.

"Come on, Akane!  It's time for gym!" came Ranma's voice.  HER voice.

Her voice?  "Why are you a girl?"

"Ah, just wanted to see what you girls were up to today!" she chirped back a bit 

uneasily.

They made record time as Ranma pulled Akane over any steps or possible stumbling 

blocks.

"Here we are!" said Ranma with a smile on her face for managing to accomplish 

getting Akane to gym on time and unharmed.

Akane had to admit being led quickly to the gym was much better than stumbling 

slowly to it.  However after Ranma's proclamation of arrival Akane released the 

mallet on Ranma's head.

A crumpled Ranma had to ask, "What was that for!"  

"For being a pervert and trying to look in on the girls while they change," she 

walked to the locker room but turned around before entering, "but, thank you, 

Ranma."

Ranma merely rubbed her head, "I'm never going to understand girls." 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Akane sighed as she began what was now a long journey home.  Somehow she manage 

to get away from the school before Ranma found her and rag doll dragged her home 

like he had for a good portion of the school day.  She didn't think she could 

take the extra irritation.  Not after everything else that happened today.  Most 

especially gym.

Today in gym was one of the best basketball games ever played.  And she was not 

part of it.  She couldn't even watch it.  The teacher apologized that she 

couldn't be included and told her she could stretch or study in the mean time.  

A few minutes later she heard sneaker squeaks, the whoosh of sunk balls, and the 

yells of teammates cheering each other on.  The only thing she manage to sink 

was herself into the floor.  

Her head and heart throbbed softly in the memory.  How dull and boring.  How 

useless.

Akane stopped walking as she heard the fence rattle from behind. 

"Ranma?" she questioned but got no answer.  Turning to the direction of the 

noise, a large well of frustration grew once more.  How was she going to tell if 

it was friend or foe?  Of course, it was sometimes hard to tell even with sight.

"Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho," came the fanatical laughter of the Kuno sister.

[Ah, definitely not a friend.]  "Kodachi?"  Akane wasn't really up to dealing 

with the strange girl today but knowing Kodachi, she wouldn't have much choice.  

Still, there was no reason to try to set Kodachi off, so Akane tried to hold 

back the irritation in her voice but the polite talk was out.  "What do you 

want?"

"Where is my Ranma-sama?"  Kodachi forgot the question as she dropped to the 

sidewalk within five feet of the youngest Tendo.  Why was the peasant not 

glaring at her directly?  She knew the Tendo girl always looked her with no 

regard to respect her betters.  But not now.  Tilting her head to the side, 

Kodachi took a deep look into Akane's eyes.

"I don't know.  But he's not here," Akane replied, wanting only to be left 

alone.

"Ah, the poor peasant girl.  You have lost your sight?"  There was no hint of 

pity, more of excitement of a cat trapping a mouse in the corner.  "How will you 

compete for Ranma-sama's love?  He deserves a better mate than a handicapped 

little girl.  Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho."

Akane just had one of the worst school days of her life and Kodachi had just hit 

the right combination to set Akane on kill mode.  She launched towards the 

laughter for a punch, her uniform snaps as her arms extends out, a telltale sign 

that the punch was a good one but it only hit air.

Kodachi smiled in amusement as she easily dodges the attack with only a step 

back.  She watched as Akane, not realizing how close she was to the fence gets 

her extending arm caught in the wire fence.  Akane immediately realizes her 

mistake and tries to free herself.  

Kodachi smirked at that.  Without sight the little peasant couldn't adjust her 

aim or attack.  Well, we can't have a raving blind girl on the street, she might 

end up hurting herself or somebody else.  And it's important to help those in 

need, especially those of lower class.

Akane turns slightly with her arm still trapped to try to sweep kick about where 

Kodachi is at but before she can make a move, a familiar ribbon wraps tightly 

around her.  She can feel the end, sharp as razor, rest on her cheek.  

"Ranma-sama would like you even less if your appearance matched your 

disability," Kodachi whispered in a heavy breath of malicious intent.  There was 

a tug on the ribbon, freeing Akane's arm but pain followed as the strip 

tightened down on Akane.  The squeeze shuddered its way up through to the top 

and end of the ribbon slashing down onto Akane's face.  She could feel a wetness 

run down her cheek and Akane struggled to free herself.  Kodachi was going to 

main her!

With one strong jerk to the right, she was falling to the ground and the ribbon 

loosened to her freedom before she landed, letting her drop properly to minimize 

any damage.

"Ranma-sama!" Akane heard Kodachi's cry in adoration before the recognizable 

sound of a body being punted far away.

Ranma watched the crazy Kuno sister disappear over the horizon.  It was very 

rare that he actually wanted to hurt someone but this was one of those cases.  

He had to get himself back under control before doing anything more and knowing 

that he had hurtled Kodachi to the dump was helping.  When the black dot finally 

was lost to the distance, he turned to Akane, who remained seated where she 

landed, and picked her up to take her home.

Thankfully no one was around, except Kasumi in the kitchen, so no questions 

would have to be answered yet.  He took the steps up by two and used his foot to 

open Akane's door.  He unceremoniously threw her to the bed, ran to the bathroom 

for the medical kit, and was back beside Akane in an instant, cleaning the 

wound.

It wasn't very deep, just looked worse than it was.  No stitches would be 

needed, thank god.  But still, that didn't halt the unappeased anger.  It 

started with the unpunished person or people who took Akane's sight and now add 

to that Kodachi who would attack someone who was obviously at a disadvantage.  

Ranma's anger boiled over into his irritation with Akane's stubbornness.  "What 

are you thinking, Akane?  I searched the whole school trying to find you.  And 

you're having it out with Kodachi?  Geez, you couldn't beat her before, what 

makes you think you could take Kodachi in a fight now?"

He started to apply alcohol to the wound to insure it was clean and wouldn't get 

infected.  Akane didn't flinch at the sting, but tears began to roll down her 

cheek.  A little pang went off in Ranma's heart and he whispered with no heat, 

"Oh, come on, Akane.  It doesn't hurt that much."

One drop hit Akane's hand and she turned away from him.  In a weak little voice 

she said, "Thank you, Ranma, for cleaning my injury.  Could you please leave?"

Ranma sat still.  What was this all about?  "Uh, sure.  You're welcome."  

He slowly stood and stared at the back of Akane's head as if to look inside and 

know what the heck the crazy tomboy was thinking about now.  But she made no 

move.  With a deep sigh, he closed the kit and left the room.  But before he 

shut the door he would have sworn he heard a sob.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranma paced back and forth on the roof.  Akane didn't come down for dinner 

tonight and when their fathers pushed him up the stairs to take food to her and 

make sure she was feeling OK, he resisted enough to make a point then willingly 

knocked on her door with a tray in hand.  

Not surprisingly she didn't answer.  No light shone under the doorway but he 

doubt she was asleep.  There was a look to her eyes when he last saw her that 

made him believe neither one of them was going to get much sleep.

Akane was hurting.  Even with his skill of perceptiveness, he knew.  And he 

really hated it when she was in any sort of pain.  But what could he do?  He 

could fight, but who, or what would he fight?

His physical strength offered nothing in answers and so he turned to his brain.  

Unfortunately it turned out that his mind was only good at strategizing his 

physical strength.  However, there was someone who was very good at thinking, 

and even better at plotting and finding information.

But could he afford the price?

Ranma hopped down into his room and sought out Nabiki who was busily typing away 

on her computer in her room.  She had that serious look to her, fully focused on 

whatever she was working on.  It made him more nervous.  It was like the deadly 

focus of a snake watching a mouse.  A quick and vicious strike would be all she 

needed to catch her prey.

With a gulp he tried to be friendly, "H-hey, Nabiki.  What's up?"

Nabiki stopped typing and slowly moved her eyes to glare at him, "What is it, 

Ranma?  I'm busy."

Did all the Tendo sister's inherit a part of Soun's demon head in one version or 

another?  He'd hate to see Kasumi's irritated side.  Two was enough to kill a 

man in fright.  "Ah, well, I was wondering if you could help me?"

There was that flash in her eyes Ranma recognized.  It was the bright spark of 

yen he knew would be removed from his pocket.  "Help you?  But of course, my 

dear brother-in-law.  I'm always there to help family."  She closed up the 

computer and turned her full attention to him.  "So how can I help you?"

Ranma could feel his face redden at her stare.  It felt as if she was looking 

for something within him.  He leaned against the wall and cleared his throat, 

then tapped into the fire still burning in him. "I need to find out who hurt 

Akane."

Even he was surprised at the venom in his voice at the statement.  Nabiki 

blinked a couple of times but finally gave a pleased smile.  "Why?  What are you 

going to do?"

Ranma rolled his eyes at the obvious answer, "I'm going to beat the crap outta 

them, that's what."

"Well, that's nice.  Then what?"

Ranma shook his head, not understanding what the Tendo sister was getting at, 

"What do you mean?"

"You're going to 'beat the crap', as you so eloquently put it, out of the 

guilty.  What does that solve?  My sister will still be blind."

"Dr. Tofu said she'd recover!"

"He said MAYBE she would recover.  He doesn't quite know what's going on which 

is why he's consulting with other doctors in the area right now.  But there's a 

chance, Ranma, my little sister is not going to get her sight back.  What do you 

do then?  Beat the crap out of the doctors not curing her?"

Ranma was a little taken back by the thought and slumped up against the wall at 

the possibilities, "I...I don't know."

Nabiki sighed at the hopeless case in front of her.  "She's going to need you, 

Ranma.  Your support and comfort.  And I don't think she's going to ask for it.  

Too damn stubborn.  All of us are."

Ranma had his head bent in what Nabiki could only place as embarrassment and a 

bit of humiliation.  What she was implying, some in unspoken words, was more 

than either Ranma or Akane were really ready for.  It went up against every 

brick the two had built up between them.

"Look I'm not asking you to marry her right here on the spot, just watch out for 

her.  Offer a helping hand.  Like you did today."

Ranma's head snapped up at that, "You saw that?"

"Ranma, I may not 'see' everything but I do hear everything.  From staying with 

her all the way to school to making sure she gets to class to saving her from 

Kodachi.  No piece of important information gets by Nabiki Tendo.  Especially 

anything having to do with my family."  

Nabiki gave an internal chuckle at Ranma's bugged out eyes.  "Now, if you'll 

excuse me, I have to get back to the family business," she said with a 

dismissive wave of the hand.

Ranma stood there for a few minutes longer watching her work, trying to decide 

how he felt about Nabiki knowing so much.  Both about what happened today and 

about Akane and whether or not she was correct.  

Feeling the need to pace in order to think things through, Ranma started towards 

the door when Nabiki spoke up, "About your earlier question..."

Ranma came to a complete stop at the door but did not turn around, "Yes?"

"I've already been working on it.  Free of charge."

"Thank you."

"But the advice is going to cost you."  She smiled at him as he automatically 

reached to his wallet to pay.  "I'm just kidding.  Your payment will be a 

promise to me."

Distrust was written all over Ranma's face, "This doesn't involve...cats, does 

it?"

Nabiki's grin grew wider but she shook her head, "Ranma, Ranma, Ranma.  If you 

can't trust family, who are you going to trust?  No, nothing like that.  I just 

want you to promise you'll give whoever did this to my little sister a good 

pounding."

"No problem," Ranma smiled evilly before exiting the room.


	3. Blinded by the Light_Chapter 3

Blinded by the Light - Chapter 3

Synopsis:  A part of the ATAC! group ganged up on Akane after school which 

resulted in Akane losing her sight.  Akane tries to continue with her life as 

usual but is finding her new handicap making things difficult.  Also, Nabiki 

makes a promise to Ranma to help find the guilty party involved in wounding 

Akane.  In the meantime, Kouga and the crew are trying to find a plan to save 

themselves from the possible wrath of Akane and Ranma.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kouga stepped up to the door of the old mansion and frowned.  It was night now, 

7 pm, the appointed time.  And apparently the place, too.  Kouga rechecked the 

numbers on his scrap of paper against those falling off the old house.  The 

paint peeled in little curls showing gray wood underneath.  The dead trees in 

the yard, a lawn tall enough to hide a Mack truck.  All it needed was a few 

crows and stormy weather and the place would be straight out of an American 

horror movie.

Not seeing a door bell, Kouga knocked on the door.  It slowly swung open with a 

moaning creak which clearly said to him, "Get out."

Kouga paused and rechecked the address.  Yupe, the numbers matched.

"If that little twerp set me up, I'll kill him," Kouga growled under his breath.

Voices caught his attention and Kouga stepped into the dark entryway.  A light 

in the hallway drew him closer to the sound.  Stepping forward into the room, 

the whisperings abruptly stopped.  Two puny boys turned to him.  One Gosunkugi 

and one Makoto.  Both looking a little panicked at his sudden appearance.

What made Kouga even more tense was the strange symbols, objects and smells that 

surrounded the room.  The whole room had a sense of old and potentially 

dangerous, plus the two boys were still warily looking at him but said nothing.

Kouga was liking this less and less.  They better have a good plan or he might 

just beat them up.  Basic principle really.  If he was unhappy, then everybody 

else would be more unhappy.

Deciding to act casual, Kouga asked, "So what's the plan?"

Makoto glanced quickly at Gosunkugi before replying.  "Well, we might not have 

to do anything."

"Whadda mean?"  Kouga took a few threatening steps forward, "You're not backing 

out now, are you?"

The threat did its job as Makoto took the same number of steps back and 

Gosunkugi held in shaking hands some charm in front of himself for protection.

"I, I didn't say that, Kouga.  It's just that there's a rumor spreading around 

Furinken."

Kouga backed down at that, "Rumor?"

Makoto nodded his head, "Uh, yeah.  It seems the story going around school is 

that Akane has a deadly contagious disease brought on by our fight, er, I mean, 

by whatever happened at school."

Kouga snorted at that, "Hmph, I know who started that nasty bit of business.  

But it won't last.  We didn't exactly leave the school grounds clean of 

evidence, if you know what I mean.  So, I'll ask again, what's the plan?"

"Well, Gosunkugi has a spell of protection," Makoto nodded towards his cousin 

who coward again when Kouga glanced at him.

Kouga rolled his eyes at the pitiful sight of Gosunkugi's quivering.  "Uh, huh.  

And what does this require of me?"

Makoto bit his lip, flicking his eyes from his cousin then back to Kouga.  "Um, 

nothing."

Kouga nodded his head in approval.  "OK, good answer.  What does this spell of 

protection do?"

"Uh, well, it calls forth a submissive demon beast for your command and  

protection."

Kouga chewed the thought around in his mind.  The terms "submissive" and "demon 

beast" didn't seem to fit all that well together.  However, "for your command 

and protection" was too much of a tempting offer for a bully with dwindling 

followers.  These thoughts let the shifty movements of the two others boys and 

their sneaky side glances be forgotten.

With a nod of his head Kouga asked, "So when do we start?"

Makoto smiled at Gosunkugi. If Kouga had caught it, he would have reconsidered 

his answer.

Gosunkugi finally spoke up, though his voice was so soft it was hard to tell.  

"Sit here and hold this candle.  Don't let it go out under any circumstances."

"What happens if it goes out?"

"Not sure what.  Something bad."

Kouga shrugged seemingly unconcerned while Gos continued, "I'll draw the 

symbols.  You may feel a little tingle, but it's just the magic."

After shoving a lit candle in Kouga's hand, Gosunkugi frantically started to 

work.  Drawing symbols, chanting, placing strange objects in the symbols.  The 

whole time Kouga watched the flame while Makoto stood to the side.

Gosunkugi finally stopped his scribbling and chanting.  Symbols were everywhere. 

 Floor, walls, people.  Though a few candles were the only source of light in 

the room, Kouga could discern Makoto and Gosunkugi stood a couple of feet away 

in small hand drawn circles.  However, Kouga found himself surrounded by arrows 

pointing towards him with several characters written in Japanese saying, "Get 

him."

Before he could start asking important questions, the hairs on the back of his 

neck lifted.  A breeze from no where tugged at his shirt.  

Kouga palmed the candle to try to keep it lit as a shadow grew from the floor in 

front of him.  The darkness shifted and shaped until a humanoid form stretched 

into life.  

The creature growled loudly.  Hands above its head with fingers arced, ready to 

slash its prey.  It paused for a moment, taking in its surroundings.  Kouga's 

pupils dilated to pinpoints as it leaned over then blew out the candle.

A scream pierced the night, then just as quickly died.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranma ran down the street on top of the fence trying to button his mandarin 

shirt while scarfing down the last of his breakfast.  As he swallowed the last 

bit, he yelled, "Akane!  Wait up!"

Akane had left early this morning.  Determined to make it on her own, Ranma 

guessed.  Stupid idiot.  Didn't she realize she was going to get herself hurt?  

Especially since now Kodachi, possibly Shampoo as well, knows of her handicap.

Ranma continued to curse his fiancée's stubbornness when he turned a corner and 

came to a complete stop.  Streets signs were bent at all angles, cars mangled, 

cracks in sidewalks and walls.  He wondered briefly if some bumbling 

construction crew had passed through before the sense of déjà vu shook down his 

spine.

What the hell happened here?  And where was Akane?

Ranma felt his heart jump a little.  The line of destruction followed the same 

path he and Akane always took to get to school.  

/That stupid, stupid idiot better be alright,/ he thought to himself as he 

jumped back into a run.  The school was approaching in the horizon when he 

started to hear crashes.  A blue haired girl could be seen slowly walking 

towards the school and Ranma sighed in relief.

Until he saw the car next to her crumple.

"Akane!"  Ranma called out to her.

Akane turned around to the sound of his voice and propped what looked to be an 

extraordinarily long and thick log on her shoulder.

"Ranma?"  She asked, then added a bit irritated, "About time you got up."

Ranma jumped off the fence and took in the stock of damage.  The car next to 

them had a solid v-shaped dent in its roof, like a tree had fallen on it.  No 

destruction lay ahead.  And Akane had a rather big stick in a ready position.

/Well, mystery solved./  Ranma didn't know if he should laugh or hang his head.

"Akane, do you realize what you're doing?"

Akane's eyebrows creased in confusion, "I'm going to school.  What does it look 

like?"

Ranma glanced at the car again, "Well, it looks like you're declaring war on 

Nerima."  

"What?"

"You just took out most of the cars on the way to school with that weapon of 

yours."

Akane growled, "This is NOT a weapon, Ranma.  It's a walking stick."

"A walking stick?" Ranma said in disbelief.

Akane placed a loving hand on the log resting on her shoulder, "Yes, I made it 

myself last night.  Dr. Tofu said it might help me get around."

"Figures."  Then Ranma added with an exasperated sigh, "You can't do anything 

right."

Akane was starting to feel her anger rise, "And what's that suppose to mean!"

"A walking stick is suppose to help you from tripping or bumping into something 

not take down an entire city!"

"I didn't trip or bump into anything on the way here!"

"That's because you forcibly moved it from your path with that brute strength of 

yours!"

Akane was about to see how well her walking stick could remove a certain fiancée 

from her path when they heard the late bell ring.

"The late bell!"  They both cried.  

Ranma grabbed Akane and began to run.  Fortunately for Ranma, Akane was too busy 

trying to maintain her hold on her walking stick and school bag to physically 

protest.  With a few well placed jumps, the pair made it to the classroom before 

roll call.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Finally, lunch time."  Akane sighed under her breath.  She made her way to her 

favorite spot under the tree.  Without her walking stick, things were a bit 

harder, but the teacher absolutely refused to let her use it inside the school 

grounds.  Akane couldn't understand why people were having such a problem with a 

simple stick.

Leaning back against the stable tree trunk, Akane sighed again.  Today was 

possibly worse than yesterday.  She failed her quiz for English.  The teacher 

gave her an oral examine but Akane wasn't able to read the material and 

therefore, was unable to study for it.  The teacher tried to be nice but in the 

end told Akane she might be better off transferring to a special school or at 

the very least have home schooling.  She wasn't the first teacher today to offer 

such advice, and unfortunately, Akane knew she wasn't the last.

Akane also wasn't looking forward to the rest of the day.  Gym was up soon and 

Akane already knew that basketball would be played again.  And that meant she 

would be sidelined for the period.  She'd never been sidelined before.  

But worse was the whispering.  It had changed over night.  Before it was wild 

stories and theories, curious and annoying.  But now it was...  Akane couldn't 

quite put her finger on it except that it was definitely worse.  She couldn't 

hear words very well, their meaning were being held better.

She also noticed none of the students would have nothing to do with her.  Even 

her friends.  Yesterday, a lot of people were helping her out, finding her desk 

and what not.  But today she struggled with everything on her own.  It felt as 

if the entire school had extricated her to some corner alone.

Except Ranma.

Somehow, when she was about to scream in frustration, he would be there to give 

a quick hand then, just as suddenly, disappear.  Akane was having problems 

placing this behavior into her world.  Except for this morning when he poked fun 

at her walking stick, Ranma had been almost…kind to her the whole day.  It was a 

side she rarely saw since his machoism would usually step in after doing 

something nice and botch it all up.

Akane smiled to herself.  She hoped Ranma managed to keep it up.

Approaching footsteps halted Akane's thoughts.  "So Tendo, how's the eyes?" a 

familiar and much disliked voice asked.

 "They feel fine, though I'm still blind.  Thank you for asking, Sakura." Akane 

said in a dismissive tone.

"I'm sorry to hear that.  I also came to tell you how sorry I am to hear about 

your condition."

Akane felt her hairs rise a little.  Sakura was a known rumor starter.  They 

were always malignant and unfortunately, usually believed.  "My condition?"  

"Yes, rumor has it that your…disability is attributed to a strange contagious 

disease."

"What?  That's idiotic!  I was in a…a fight."  Akane's brows creased as she 

tried to pull together her memory of what did happen that fateful day.

Sakura placed a finger to her lips, "Ah, that incident no one heard and you 

apparently remember so well.  Now come on Tendo, you must admit.  You've 

disappeared often for extended periods and return with these wild stories.  

Really, you could of just told your classmates the truth."

Akane clenched her fists as she stood, "It is the truth!  Why would I lie?"

"Well, I'm sure it would be hard to tell others about a potentially dangerous 

disease when every boy at Furinken is fighting for you.  I mean, you wouldn't 

want them to give up their chase, would you?"

The under lying implications of the statement made Akane's blood boil.  That 

people were believing it made her face pale.  The change in the rumor mill and 

how no one would help her.  It had to be the reason.  She could almost picture 

Sakura standing in front of her with a smug smile of triumph that she had hit a 

mark and that Akane could do nothing about it.

"Yo."  Akane heard Ranma drop down by her.  "You OK, Akane?"

Ranma found his fiancée extremely pale after being held up by some guys asking 

him stupid questions about Akane.  What's with this disease they keep talking 

about?  The other girl who was talking to Akane was smiling something akin to an 

evil Nabiki smile.  He didn't like it one bit and decided to step in.  He liked 

it even less that neither answered his question.  

"Well, I best be going.  Have a good day, Akane."  Sakura flashed a fake 

friendly smile as she turned to leave.  Ranma's eyes narrow as he decided he 

really didn't like that girl.

Ranma glanced back at his fiancée and found her entirely too quiet and pale.  

"Come on, Akane.  You don't look so good.  Why don't I take you home?"  

The fact that she didn't protest when he picked her up and ran home made Ranma 

worry all the more.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranma was normally a heavy sleeper.  Having a snoring panda as a bed companion 

and a rough martial arts training life did that to a person.  However, too many 

things weighed heavily on his mind.  And they all circled around Akane.

Dinner had been….difficult tonight.  Akane spent the entire afternoon alone in 

her room, only coming out when Kasumi called for dinner.  He knew things were 

going to get bad as soon as Akane tried to feed herself.  Kasumi offered help 

and Akane almost snapped at her.  Ranma had watched his fiancée's frustration 

and embarrassment build as she fumbled with her chopsticks sending rice and 

other bits of food all over the place.

It was if the trap was set and Mr. Tendo had to play with it.  As Akane became 

more and more violent with her food, he started asking questions about school.  

Akane growled that things were OK.  The tone of Akane's voice sent alert systems 

off in Ranma's brain.  He knew it very well.  It said clearly, "Back off, I have 

a mallet."

Mr. Tendo, apparently, was unfamiliar or oblivious to the warning and continued 

on about how worried they were about her well being and how vulnerable she was 

to another attack.  Kasumi interjected that she would be happy to home school 

Akane.  Of course Genma sided with Mr. Tendo and Nabiki just watched the whole 

thing unfold.

Ranma started to inch away from Akane as her chi flared up.  Akane slowly stood 

and her chi dropped to a low burn.  The table went dead silent in the presence 

of her battle aura.  She held her chopsticks tight in her hand and merely said, 

"Excuse me."

Then his fiancée disappeared back into her room.  Nabiki was the only one to 

speak up after that, "Now that was interesting, eh, Ranma-kun?"

The look in her eyes suggested he go up and find out WHAT that was all about.  

However, Ranma's self-preservation told him to let Akane have time alone.

He didn't understand what was wrong with the crazy chick.  Her family was 

worried about her, that's all.  Why was she so upset with them?

Ranma's thoughts were dropped when he heard his door open.  No one comes in at 

this time of night unless their looking for trouble.  His many experiences with 

Happosai and Shampoo taught him that the hard way.

[Well, if they're looking for trouble, I guess I'll have to give them some.]  He 

grinned a bit wickedly as he tensed up.  It was the new moon and little light 

entered through the window making it impossible for Ranma to distinguish who the 

intruder was and, it seemed, making it hard for the trespasser to get through 

the room.  But it didn't matter, for whoever it was passed by the panda and came 

towards Ranma's futon.  They were definitely here for him.

The person dropped to their knees and began to reach out to him when he jumped 

up.  With a sweep of his arm, Ranma grabbed both wrists.  He slapped his hand 

over their mouth before the intruder could make a noise.  Continuing with the 

forward momentum, Ranma pushed the person to the floor with his weight on top to 

stop them from running or getting a good position to fight back.  

His mind working in fight mode quickly took stock of the situation and potential 

dangers.  It took merely a second before his mind realized that the intruder was 

female.  A physically fit and well endowed female at that.  The blush he 

radiated preceded the second brain wave which took note of the short hair and 

wide blank hazel eyes which were only inches away from his.  Both of which he 

could recognize even in this light.  

He could feel her soft lips pressed into his palm and her body moved slightly 

underneath him as she tried to escape his grip.  With the beginnings of a tickle 

in his nose, he leaped away.

"Akane?" he whispered in disbelief while holding back the blood flow.

She sat up quickly, looking flustered but not angry at the attack, "Uh, hi, 

Ranma."

"What are you doing?"

"I, I couldn't sleep so..."

"So?"

"I came here.  To sleep.  I guess."

Ranma was puzzled as to why Akane would want to be in the room with him and his 

father.  He wouldn't be in the room with his father if he could help it.  

Actually Akane sounded a little confused herself.

"Why don't ya just sleep with one of your sisters?" he asked a bit irritated for 

being woken up.

Could see a blush running across her cheeks, "I can't."

"Why not?"

Her flush continued to deepen, "Because I kick in my sleep."

"Oh, so it's OK to beat up on me?"

"That's not what I said!  Besides I'm not asking to sleep in your futon, you 

pervert!"

Ranma smiled cockily, "Oh, really?  Just admit it, Akane.  You came here to 

sleep with me."

That hit the right button as he saw her flash in the darkness but it guttered 

out just as quickly.  

"I just wanted...I thought...Oh, never mind, Ranma.  I'll just go."  She tried 

to make an angry retreat but her new handicap caused her to shuffle and fumble 

as her hands grabbed only air trying to find the door knob.

Hot tears ran down her face.  She was so angry.  Angry at Ranma for being a 

jerk.  Angry at herself for being unable to find an exit.  Angry at her weakness 

for needing comfort.

A hand on her arm stopped her feeble movements, "You're such a clumsy tomboy."  

He said softly with an exasperated sigh.  

Before she had time to react he was guiding her out the room.  Her tears turned 

cold at the humiliation.  How true those words were.  Especially now.  She 

couldn't do anything.  Even walking was a challenge.  And apparently Ranma 

wanted no part of her but was kind enough to stop her from embarrassing herself 

further and show her to the hall.

But the warmth on her arm never left as she heard the door shut quietly behind 

her.  "Come on, let's get you back to your room."

He slowly pushed her along with a hand at her back and one at her wrist for 

guidance.  His help was comforting.  Very unlike the annoyance of Kasumi who 

would prattle on about nothing trying to ease the awkwardness of the situation.  

Akane felt him release his gentle hold, and heard her duck plate knocked softly, 

before guiding her to the bed.  Even before she had a chance to sit, he left 

her.  The warmth, more than of his touch, quickly cooled as he walked away.  Her 

heart grew dark as her vision and painfully heavy with each step she heard.

[He's walking away.  I'm like an annoying animal.  Something that needs tending 

to.  Watched but not...not truly cared for.]  But when the door finally closed, 

she could still hear his breath.

"Ranma?" she asked with small hope.  She tried to keep her voice strong but it 

still trembled a little, afraid she would get no response.

He answered and that small hope grew, "Come on, Akane.  You need some sleep."  

Ranma pushed gently against Akane's shoulder to get her to lay down, then he 

covered her with the blanket.

It took a few minutes to calm her heart to realize he still did not leave the 

room after tucking her in.  She could hear him moving things around, shifting 

objects, pausing for brief moments, cursing slightly under his breath when a 

solid thunk of head hitting her desk sounded in the room.  

"Ranma, what are you doing?"

The noise stopped.  "Uh, just looking."

"Looking?  For what?"

"Um, just some things, to make myself a bed."

Akane fiddle with her fingers a bit, "But..."

"I thought, you know, that when you came into my room, you just wanted, well, 

you just wanted a little company."

Akane felt her cheeks heat up, "Well, yeah, but…" 

Ranma stopped dead in his tracks.  [She didn't really want to *sleep* with me, 

did she?]  "I'll be right here, Akane."

"But..."  Akane could feel her frustration growing, mixed with a bit of fear.  

[I can't SEE that, you idiot.]

That look on her face.  God, how he hated that look, especially since there was 

something he could do about it.

"OK, how about this."  He sat on the floor, scooting himself up to the edge of 

the bed then after a moment's hesitation took Akane's hand.

Akane smiled some but it was more amusement than relief.  "You can't sleep 

comfortably like that, Ranma."

"Well, what else am I suppose to do?"

Akane released Ranma's hand, moved to the far side of the bed and patted the 

open spot.

There was a very, very long pause were Akane couldn't hear Ranma's breath and 

she thought for a moment he had bolted.  Considering the invitation she just 

gave him, she wouldn't blame him.  Not too much.  The mallet was surely enough 

to warrant self preservation.  But all the same, it still hurt to receive his 

refusal.

She just didn't want to be alone and lose another night of sleep.  At least when 

you can see, you can be sure that the strange movement of the house wasn't a 

creepy ghost or an equally creepy Kodachi hanging over you.  But she wouldn't 

force him to do something he didn't want to do.  No matter how much she wanted 

him to stay, Akane refused to be like their fathers.  

"Ranma, if you don't want to...You don't have to stay."

The crumpled expression was the final push and Ranma found himself willing 

climbing into Akane's bed against all the terrified screaming voices of warning 

in his head.  It was the longest five minutes of both their lives.  Neither 

occupant moved laying side-by-side.  

Ranma turned his head slightly to Akane to see how much longer he had to live 

and whether he should make a run for it like his instinct told him.  She was 

breathing a bit oddly, taking small gulps of air.  Before Ranma could ask if she 

was alright, Akane threw herself into his arms.

Her body shuddered hard with each sob that was muffled into his shoulder, 

"Akane!?  What's wrong?  I'll leave if..."

"No!" Akane grasped him so tight Ranma thought his ribs would crack but it was 

only a brief moment as her muscles released and Ranma's lungs filled with air.  

"Please, just tonight.  Hold me."  The desolation and pain in her voice brought 

his arms to encircle the shaking girl.  

"Sshh, Akane.  It's alright, " he whispered into her hair.  For what was a very 

difficult hour, he held her tight, not knowing what else to do and feeling he 

should do more.  All range of emotions ran through her until she was spent and 

fell deeply into sleep.

She laid in his arms completely trusting that he would protect her from whatever 

danger.  He wondered briefly how she could sleep with his heart hammering so 

loudly.  Her skin fairly glowed under the moonlight and her hair felt soft and 

silky between his fingers.  Her eyelashes were spiked from her tears and her 

face had relaxed from the usual anger he saw.  She looked like an angel.

Deciding he would leave after a few minutes to ensure she was really asleep, he 

gave her a slight squeeze which made her mumble softly in her sleep.  Somehow 

that made her all the much more cuter.  Ranma grabbed the blanket which had 

fallen from Akane's shoulders and with her still in his arms, he pulled the 

blanket over them both.  

He could feel the heat of her body pressed softly against him and had to admit 

to himself he didn't really want to leave.  When he first came into her room he 

kind of hoped P-chan was here.  Granted he didn't care for the little pervert, 

but he did tend to bring comfort to Akane.  Ranma never had to do that before 

and didn't know where to begin.  But now he would have willingly ate this very 

woman's cooking to hold her like this.  It surprised him how much he liked it.

It wouldn't hurt to just shut his tired eyes for a few minutes, would it?  

Besides the warmth from Akane was so comfortable.  Nothing like his father's 

fur.  This was much, much better.

Thirty seconds later Ranma was lightly snoring, his last conscious thought 

wondering how things become so different.


	4. Blinded by the Light_Chapter 4

Synopsis:  Akane fought with her unwanted fan club and her memory of those involved were taken as well as her sight.  Sakura, a classmate, starts a rather nasty rumor about how Akane actually became blind while Kouga and co summon up something rather interesting for protection.  Akane ends up having another bad day trying to continue life as normal and Ranma ends up comforting her….in bed.  *woo-hoo!*  (BUT NO CITRUS HERE!)

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Akane slowly moved her cheek against the solid warmth beneath her, trying to discern where she was at without fully waking.  She'd never woke up to such a strange feeling.  A protective warmth surrounded her, it felt perfectly wonderful.  And she was quite content on staying where she was but her curiosity drew her towards consciousness.

The rise of her pillow, the sound of a drawing breath near her ear and a hand on her back quickly snapped her awake.  Her eyes opened to total darkness.  Akane quickly stifled her initial panic as the memories came flooding back in.

She was still blind.  Nobody at school would even talk to her.  But Ranma...Ranma had been there for her.  He was even there for her last night when she needed someone to comfort her.  Ranma did stay.  He was still here, holding her.

A loud rumble momentarily halted Akane's happy little internal dialogue.

/And he's snoring./ she giggled softly to herself.  /Typical./

_"Just because you're blind doesn't mean I'm going to lessen up on winning Ranma…remember Akane, it's still no holds bar…"_

_"He deserves a better mate than a handicapped little girl."_

Voices from the recent past broke Akane's moment of happiness.  How long was this warmth to last?  Ukyo seemed sure that it was only momentary time before Ranma would walk into the Okonomayaki chef's arms.  Kodachi was, well, Kodachi but what she said had some ring of truth.  Was Ranma just being nice to some crippled girl who was scared to be alone in the dark?

Tears welled up in Akane's eyes and she swallowed them quickly as Ranma's breathing changed from deep sleep to waking mode.

Akane felt Ranma's whole body stiffen, before he slowly cracked his eyes open to a pair of hazel, slightly glazed, peering off somewhere over his shoulder.  They showed no anger, however, for a moment he thought there was a deep sadness in their golden depths.

Ranma sighed with relief, "Oh, geez, it's only you.  For a second I thought you were Shampoo."

Akane immediately stiffened in his arms, "WHAT?!?"

Apparently mentioning the other fiancées first thing in the morning was NOT the correct introduction when waking in a fiancé's bed.  Ranma tried to make note of this and correct the situation.  Left with no other option, he began to verbally back pedal.

"No, wait.  I mean, I'm glad that you but not her, cuz I'd get hurt but she's not and you're here.  You know?"

Akane blinked, confusion knitted her brows, "Ranma, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What I'm trying to say is um, that I, uh," Ranma decided to change the subject in hopes the momentary confusion would cover his escape, "that I'm sorry about last night.  I didn't mean to stay, I just sort of fell asleep."

"No, that's ok.  I…I appreciate it."  Akane smiled shyly, a light blush running across her cheeks.  Ranma could only do the same, then his face turned flame red as he realized how close they still were to each other.

Trying not to accidentally anger her (he could never really figure out what set her off sometimes) Ranma slowly released his grip to sit up and swing his legs over the bed.  Akane sighed internally to herself as she felt Ranma's warmth leave, already missing the wonderful warm feeling being in Ranma's arms.

Ranma glanced over his shoulder at Akane as she repositioned herself next to him.  "So, you feelin' better this morning?"

Akane nodded slowly but kept her unfocused gaze to the floor.

"Well, you don't look better."

Ranma could see Akane clench up.  Damn it!  He did it again.  What the heck was wrong with his mouth anyways?  After a quick slap to his own face, Ranma tried again.  "I mean, you still look kinda…sad."

There was a long pause as Akane digested Ranma's comment.  She didn't know if she should tell him what was bothering her.  But he did seem concerned.  And since he hadn't bolted as soon as he could, maybe he really did want to help.  She could at least open up a little, give him a chance.

"Everybody gave up on me," Akane said, barely audible in the silence.

Not quite understanding, Ranma could only reply with, "What?"

She cleared her throat of the lump closing off her voice and repeated, "Everyone gave up on me.  The teachers, my friends, my family…"

Ranma sensed her hesitancy, "Me?"

His fiancée nodded slowly with her head still bowed.  Her answer left Ranma uncomfortable.  "I did?"

Akane nodded again.

"When?"

"You said Kodachi was always better than me.  Especially now."  She whispered, her hair covering her eyes.

Ranma felt a low deep blow of guilt inside his chest.  He hadn't meant to hurt Akane like that.

"I was just upset that you set yourself up for one of my fia…uh, the other girls to come attack you.  I know you can't defend yourself like you are now."

Akane's shoulders slumped and Ranma knew he had screwed up again.  But Ranma was learning, so he tried to fix things.  "But that's why I like studying Anything Goes martial arts.  Cuz when the situation changes, you can change with it.

"The way I see it, this is like one of the stupid teaching techniques that my pops put me through.  As idiotic as the old man can be, it did teach me to adapt.  You have to change how you do things, think differently to adapt to your new conditions.

"Like me and pops moving in here and my curse.  I had to learn how to do things differently.  Granted sometimes it took a while but I don't run around naked in my girl form."

"Much." Akane added.

Ranma smiled as Akane seemed to perk up some.  "Yeah, well, mistakes happen.  And I know it's hard to take help.  Hell, you know my ego won't let me half the time.  But right now it's OK to occasionally take a helping hand."

Akane was shocked at Ranma's little speech.  It was probably the wisest and longest speech she ever heard come out of his mouth.  But one thing was still bothering her.

"Why'd you stay with me?"  She knew she was setting herself up for the fall but for some reason, she needed to know.

Ranma scratched the back of his head uncomfortably, "Cuz, well, cuz I fell asleep."

"No, I mean, why did you stay with me after I went to your room?"

"Oh," Ranma shrugged lightly, the blush from earlier creeping its way back to his face.  "Well, Nabiki said you might need some help.  And I am your fiancée and all.  Isn't that what a fiancée is suppose to do?"

"Oh.  Yeah, I guess."  Was all Akane said, and Ranma felt that somehow he gave the wrong answer.

The silence that followed was uncomfortable and Ranma tried to return to their previous conversation.  "So, how about we start looking into blind fighting training?  Mousse might have some techniques."

Akane looked doubtful at the prospect of Mousse being any help.

"I know, he's an idiot at times, but he is half blind and might have a few techniques we could improve upon.  Besides he might work as a good Shampoo repellant."

Akane giggled a little at that, "OK.  And this is only temporary, so…"

"That's right.  You'll get your eyesight back before you know it."  Ranma cheerfully said.

Akane frowned again, "I don't know if my grades can wait that long."

"Whadda mean?"

"I can't do my homework or take notes without being able to see."

"Couldn't you get your friends, uh, what's their names, to help you with homework?"

Akane shook her head, "They won't even talk to me now because of that stupid rumor."

Again, Ranma felt that deep seeded anger stemming from guilt of Akane's injury.  What good was he if he couldn't even protect his fiancée at school?  "Well, maybe I can help you out on that.  I mean, who knows, I might learn something."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure.  Miracles can happen.  Maybe I can improve my grades by actually studying.  You know, with your help."

Akane eyes glittered with happiness.  Her shoulders were straight with her fighting spirit back intact.  Ranma felt his heart beat fast and loud at the sight of her.  Kuno may be a complete moron but he was right about Akane's spirit.  It was quite a sight to behold.

Ranma shoved down his thoughts, "So how does all that sound to ya?"

"It sounds great, Ranma.  When do we start?"

Ranma smiled broadly, "Now, that's my Akane!"

In the spontaneous moment, Ranma kissed Akane on her forehead.  Both stopped, heart and all, for two seconds before Ranma jumped from the bed and quickly proceeded to Akane's door mumbling about not wanting to be caught, weddings, random apologies, and stupid fathers.

As the door softly shut tight, Akane lightly brushed her fingertips over the kissed spot and smiled.  Those girls were going to have to put up a good fight to take Ranma.

Akane frowned at her thoughts as she realized the possessiveness felt good.

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Kouga sat in the ATAC! club room floor looking rather pissed off.

This was not an unusual position to find Kouga in.  He was never to pleased with the world in general.  But this time there was something new to Kouga's sitting.  A well-endowed red-headed female with a content smile and little horns poking through her fire-red hair was draped over his shoulder to snuggle her head against his own.  Unlike most of the boys at Furiken High, who would kill to get such a woman to even look their way, Kouga was greatly annoyed.

"Get off of me, woman," he growled at her.

With a small frown, the 'woman' let go of Kouga from behind and sat to his side.  She stared at him for several moments as he kept his angry gaze focused to the wall.  Deciding the moment was right she clamped on to his arm, rubbing a cheek lovingly up and down his bicep.

A dark cloud of irritation formed over Kouga's head as he grumbled again for the hundredth time, "I thought she was suppose to be a submissive demon for my command and protection."

Makoto looked up briefly from his work, "That's why you weren't suppose to let the candle go out."

When in all truth, that's what Makoto and his cousin Gos had hoped for.  The spell was set to summon a demon but not for Kouga's purposes.  Unfortunately, the demon they summoned wasn't quite what they had expected.  And she knew how to counteract the spell's restrictions.  Or, most likely, Gos didn't set-up the spell correctly.

Makoto watched as "Red", as the demon called herself, clung to Kouga again.  The summoning didn't have quite the desired outcome but it was possibly better than originally imagined.  The tortured look on Kouga's face left a sweet taste of satisfaction in Makoto's mind.

Makoto returned to tinker with his new toy as Red continued to cling to Kouga's arm almost purring in pleasure of basking in the presence of her human.  Gos was no where to be found after last nights dealings, probably wailing at his loss.  But more likely because Kouga would beat the crap out of him if he found the little twerp.

Last night had been unpleasant to say the least.

A dark humanoid form rising from the floor.  Its stance ready to attack.  Two little boys cowering against the wall, clasping each other in fright.  And one dumb brut who could sense his death in the near future and could only watch as it stalked over to him.

Kouga could not remember a time in his life when he'd been scared.  But right now all of his intuitive senses were telling him that this creature was a bigger, stronger and would rip him to shreds if it so desired.  

It was so close to him, he could feel its breath over his face.  In the darkness of the room, Kouga could only distinguish bright red hair and glowing eyes looming over him.  It's eyes danced with mirth at him holding a single candle as his only line of defense.  Leaning over, it blew the candle out.

That's when Kouga started to scream.  A high pitched girly type scream.  Of which was echoed by two trembling boys.  And strangely enough, the creature, who screamed back in surprised fright before wrapping its arms around him with a crushing strength.  Though it stopped Kouga's shriek, it also stopped his breath.

The total darkness and silence of the room lead Makoto to whisper to a shaking, softly chanting Gosunkugi, "Is he dead, yet?"

The demon let go of Kouga with the interruption.  Kouga fell completely to the floor unconscious.

Realizing their death was not forthcoming, Gosunkugi turned on the lights.

And there was a red-headed, red eye, curving woman before the their eyes looking very much confused.

"It worked?"  asked Gosunkugi in amazement at his own feat of magic.

The creature stared back at the two boys, her eyebrows knit in confusion.  "Is there something wrong?"

Gosunkugi's jaw dropped, "It…it talked."

"Oh, yes.  I can talk."  The woman replied, beaming with pride.

"And…and it's female."  Gos took a few steps back, his eyes ever widening.  "A cute female."

"Oh, definitely!  I'm just tooooo cute!"  She squealed.

"A cute female who talks just…talked…to me?"  Gosunkugi asked to no one in particular.

"Aren't you so sweet calling me cute again?"  The red-head smiled up at Gosunkugi.

Which fried the last of Gos's sanity in a burst of budding passionate flame.  He blindly ran around the room, tripping over objects before slamming into Makoto in an amazing college football tackle style.

"Did you hear that Makoto?  A cute female talked to me.  TO ME.  Isn't that wonderful?"  Gos grinned inanely as he shook his cousin back and forth by his collar.

Gos's sudden strength made Makoto wary so he merely rubbed his throbbing head in reply.

"Maybe, maybe she wants to date?  I mean, no woman, NO woman has ever talked to me.  It has to mean something.  Doesn't, Makoto?"

Makoto shrugged.  He was definitely not the man to ask about women.  He was lucky to know there was another gender in the species with all the time he spent on his engineered children.

Gosunkugi took that as a yes, forgot his faithful love to Akane Tendo, and crawled over to the female in question.  "Uh, um, hi.  I was wondering, you know just out of curiosity, if you, being here and all, have some time, since you were just summoned too, this weekend to, oh, I don't know, maybe work on a little chant and nail some corn husk dolls with me?"

The demon, however, was busy cradling Kouga's head in her lap while she cooed to unconscious boy.  "Oh, dear, dear Kouga-sama.  Red is very sorry for hurting her precious little human.  From now on, Red will take care of you."

Gosunkugi's heart broke into millions of little pieces.  With a wail, he ran out the room to cry over his losses.  If he would've known the summoning would actually work, he could've had his own voluptuous female by now.

And so, Kouga awoke this morning to a cheery eyed demon, a snoring Makoto, and no Gosunkugi in sight, in a still creepy-in-daylight house.  Kouga made his way home, showered, ate and walked to school with Red following him around like a little puppy dog and clung to him at every moment possible.  His parents refrained from questioning.

He had tried insulting her, brushing her off, yelling at her, threatening her and numerous other things to get her to leave.  But she would pout a little at him before smiling big again and latching onto whatever free arm, leg or neck that was readily available.

Which was why Kouga was so pissed off.  His wishes were being ignored once again in the form of a possessive female.

"Uh, excuse me, um, Kouga?"

Kouga let his eyes slowly turn and focus on the boy talking to him.  "What?"  He said shortly, his patience already thin today.

"I…uh, I think that's a…female that's um, clinging to you."  The boy pointed to Red who immediately gave an innocent look, glanced behind her then pointed to herself with a bit of confusion in her eyes.

Kouga merely shrugged, "Yeah, what of it."

With a tone of pride the boy quoted, "No women are allowed in the club room with exception to the goddess Akane Tendo."

Kouga placed his hands behind his head and leaned back against the wall.  It was a warning sign to all that he was being bothered, and that was a bad thing to do with Kouga.  "I didn't ask her to come here."

"Well, she's with you now, so I must ask you to leave."

The very air stilled.  "You're telling me to leave?"

"Yes, apparently the female will not leave unless you go with her as she seems to be attached to you."

Kouga stood to tower over the boy, his fists clenched in anger.  "Would you care to repeat that?"

"Well, I, I don't think that, well, um, it's really all that necessary.  You know, maybe bend the rules a little.  I mean, it was the VP's idea anyways."  

Nervously, the boy took a couple steps back as Kouga growled deeply between clenched teeth, "The VP?"

Red popped up between the two boys and asked, "Is this human bothering you, Kouga-sama?"

"You could say that," Kouga spared not a glance at her as he was thinking of ways to hurt the VP's underling.

"OK." Red said, then lifted her index finger, pointed at the boy.  There was a flash of light, almost like a flame, which left the underling a bit crispy but alive.  He ran screaming from the room.  Red then dragged Kouga back down to his original sitting position so she could snuggle against his arm again.

Kouga blinked for ten seconds, closed his gapping jaw, and blinked for another ten seconds.  "Hey, Makoto.  Did you see that?"

Makoto, oblivious to all, did not reply.

Kouga then turned to the female attached to his arm, "Did you…did you do that?"

Red looked up and blinked at him.  "Do what?"

"Fry that twerp."

"Oh, that?  Yes."  As it was the most obvious thing in the world, she turned her full attention to snuggling again.

"Why?"

"Was he not bothering you?"  Red asked a bit confused at the line of questioning.

"Well, yeah, he was."

"Then that's why.  Red can't have her precious little human bothered."

Kouga didn't necessarily like how possessive Red had gotten over him but with his limited vision even he could see the possible advantages.

"Could you do it again?"

Red shrugged, pointed at a random book on the table in front of them.  With a blink of bright light and a puff of smoke, all that remained were ashes.  Kouga felt his excitement grow.  

"OK, how about this?"  He pulled a wrench from Makoto's bench top and placed it on the floor in front of him.  Again, a small movement from Red and the wrench was reduced to nothing.

With his tastes fully wetted on destruction, Makoto grabbed the next nearest object.  "How about this?"

Red eyed the toy.  It was just some cheap stuffed animal that was once won by Akane Tendo at a carnival.  The small brown bunny had long, long ears and a scruff of white hair under its belly.  "I can't."

"What?  Why not?"

"It's just too cute!" cried the demon as she picked up the toy and crushed it against her chest.

"Oh, just give it here, I'll do it myself."  Kouga tried to retch the stuffed bunny from Red's grip when he felt the world drop into hell for two seconds.

Red frowned at Kouga then was all apologies in a little sing-song voice, "Red is so sorry to hurt her little Kouga-sama but she couldn't let him harm too cute Mr. Bunny."

Curling herself around his arm again she tossed the bunny over her shoulder and repeated her apology to Kouga, while patting his hand, as if placating a bad dog after punishment.  Kouga coughed a few lungs full of smoke, wiped his face as clean as best he could with his other hand and tested his new scorched hair length.

Kouga has a bad feeling he was going to end up dead either by Ranma's hand or this demon.  

Red purred and snuggled in closer.  Possibly dead by his own hands if the demon didn't stop clinging to him.

Though the possessiveness of Red did bring a slight comfort in knowing that she would not let harm come to him.  It would at least give Kouga enough time to run for safety.  This left the door open for a new plan of attack to capture the goddess.  Which meant Makoto had some thinking to do.  The last plan was a foolish one.  A picture?  How measly.  Why merely have a picture when the real thing is so much better?

A maniacal laughter rang in the ATAC! room as Makoto continued his work. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranma leaped up to the fence as he ran to the park to meet with Nabiki.  Things were thankfully quiet at school.  The other students kept their distance and made no comments within earshot.  Only an idiot would have said anything with Ranma always by Akane's side with his predatory look.  Even that girl Ranma didn't trust, Sakura or what's-her-name, kept her distance.  However, Ranma hadn't been able to protect Akane against class itself.  Akane managed to answer questions in English class OK but the pop quiz in math had her half in anger and half in tears, especially when the teacher suggested Akane shouldn't be in her class anymore.  Ranma couldn't stand to see her so upset.

Well, thankfully tomorrow was Sunday and they had the day off.  Perhaps Akane and him could work on the school problem.  But for now, he had other business to attend to.

"Ah, there you are Saotome.  About time you showed up."  Nabiki flashed him her traditional smirk as she pushed away from the tree she was leaning on.

Ranma jumped down to Nabiki's level, "Yeah, well, I'm here.  Did you find anything new?"

"Only that nobody knows anything.  Either that or they're not talking.  Your bulldog attitude today is more likely keeping lips tied shut.  Nobody even wants to hint they might know something just in case you decided to pound them."

Ranma shrugged, "I don't want her getting any more hurt than she already is, Nabiki."

Nabiki's eyebrow lifted at that.  Ranma protecting Akane was a typical occurrence but this was somehow different.  A little deeper than just stopping a physical blow.  A line that could be called emotional.

"And neither do I, Ranma.  So I'll say no more.  Come.  Our guest has probably arrived.  I sent him the very best of the batch."

Curiosity got the better of Ranma as he followed Nabiki to the garden maze.  "What exactly did you send him?"

"Some very interesting pictures of him hugging random objects, sometimes people.  My camera seems to be very good at capturing moments of complete humiliation.  And if they don't, technology is a wonderful thing.  You went to the right woman, Saotome."

Ranma shuddered slightly and was thankful that Nabiki did not have her focus on him.  The park was relatively clear of people.  Only a few couples and an old man were within view, of which Ranma was gratefully for a bit of luck.  Mousse would probably not be too happy with his photographic moments, and may possibly be a little violent.

Within moments, Mousse's traditional white robe came into view.  And so did his very infuriated look, "Saotome?  What's he doing here?  This is between you and me, Nabiki Tendo."

Nabiki merely smiled, "Ranma here is playing body guard and investor today, Mousse.  He stays."

The hair on Mousse's head rippled, "Investor?  You mean this wife stealer also deals in black mail?  Saotome, I knew your character was low but have you no shame?!"

"Back off man.  I'm not in the mood.  Besides, Nabiki is making the deal, not me." Ranma growled surly at the half-blind boy.

"Yes, Mousse.  Keep in mind that it's my lowly character that you have to deal with so listen up." Nabiki's eyes were twinkling with the start of business, "I have a deal that will not only protect your image but may boost it in the eyes of a certain female Amazon."

Mousse instantly became confused, "Cologne?  Why would…"

"No, you idiot!  Shampoo!" Ranma shouted.

"What?!  So this is your true intent, eh Saotome?"

Not being able to hold himself back, Ranma clocked Mousse over the head, "Shut-up and listen to the woman, ya jerk."

Nabiki cleared her throat to gain back the attention of her customer, "Now, as I was saying, I have a business deal with you..  In which, you get the original copies of the pictures one by one , of course, and a better chance for Shampoo's hand for merely one hour of your time per day for four weeks."

"One hour of my time?" Mousse's eyebrows raised.

Nabiki nodded with a car dealer smile.

"Doing what exactly?" Mousse asked suspiciously. 

Well, thought Nabiki, at least he's not a complete fool. "You would be helping a mutual friend learn some self-defense."

"Just self-defense lessons for an hour?  And nothing else?"

Nabiki nodded again but with the gleam of victory in her eyes.

"Exactly who is this mutual friend?" asked Mousse.

Ranma, who had been very bored up until this point answered for Nabiki, "Akane."

"Akane Tendo?"  Mousse said incredulously, " I do not understand.  She is perfectly capable of defending herself."

Ranma forced himself to bite his tongue at the automated response that popped forth.  Luckily for him, Nabiki helped out by jabbing him quite hard in the ribs.

"Yes, usually that is the case.  But now she is under a different set of rules," explained Nabiki.

Mousse looked at Nabiki, then Ranma, then back to Nabiki.  "A different set of rules?"

Nabiki glanced at Ranma.  Ranma shrugged, "He'll know soon anyways.  It's not like it's being kept secret."

Nodding, Nabiki explained to Mousse, "Akane was blinded in an attack.  As her sister, I fear she may be harmed by certain other supposed fiancées if she's not properly trained in blind fighting."

"And you came to me?" Mousse pointed to himself in amazement that they would even bother to ask for help from him.

Ranma shrugged again, "Well, yeah.  You're pretty close to blind judging from every fight I've ever had with you."

Mousse's hackles raised for a second at the insult but he can't help admit that it had some truth to it.  He decided mull over the proposition again instead of taking up the slight challenge Ranma practically offered. 

"I must admit in my attempts to improve my skills to show my love to Shampoo, I was taught a special technique for blind fighting, hoping to improve my limited sight.  The technique did not work well for me.  My sight is poor, but not completely gone.  Akane may have an advantage in her blindness to properly learn the technique."

Nabiki popped up, "So will you do it?"

"One more thing," said Mousse.

Ranma sighed in frustration, "Come on, we don't have all day."

With a second elbow in his ribs, Ranma noted that it must be a Tendo trait to find the exact same sore spot.  

"It's good business practice to know the full details of a transaction before completing it," Nabiki said to Ranma before gesturing for Mousse to continue.

"How does this bring me close to Shampoo?"

"With carefully laid rumors and you spending time with Akane, Shampoo may miss her constant companion." Nabiki's smile grew larger, "Maybe even be a little jealous."

"Jealous?" Mousse's mind started to melt at the possibilities when something occurred to him. "Wait.  I'm afraid that would place Akane in danger.  A jealous female Amazon will not be ignored and will attack what she thinks is her opposition."

Nabiki crossed her arms, "Then you'd better train my sister good before that happens."

Ranma, finally catching his breath, started to protest, "Hey, wait just a damn minute.  That was not part of the plan, Nabiki.  You said nothing about Akane possibly being in danger from a Shampoo kiss of death."

Nabiki shrugged, "She needs a good opponent to test her new technique on, and I'm sure you'll still be hovering over her in case she's really in trouble."

"There's no way in hell I'm going to let you…" started Ranma before Nabiki found his sore spot again.

"Ignore him." Nabiki nodded towards Ranma, "He's just the hired help.  Do we have a deal?"

Mousse smiled, both at the future possibilities and to see his rival in pain, "Deal."

"No!  That's no deal!" shouted Ranma to both Nabiki and Mousse.  Unfortunately both were ignoring him and going their separate ways.  "Hey!  Get back here!  This isn't finished!"

Three people within Ranma's view glanced at his proclamation, none were Nabiki or Mousse.

"Damn it!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After getting no response from his "helpers", Ranma finally made his way home.  Nabiki smirked at him as he came to the dining table and flopped down for dinner.  He glared back at her but she did do him a favor and therefore, he decided to keep his mouth shut.  Besides he wanted to talk to Akane first to let her know the world of trouble they might both be in starting tomorrow.  Maybe it had been a bad idea to enlist Mousse's help.

"You were up pretty early this morning, Akane.  Did you sleep alright?" asked Kasumi as she served up a bowl of rice to Akane.  Placing both chopsticks and bowl in the younger Tendo sister's hands.

A blush popped up on Akane's cheeks as she remembered how she woke up this morning within Ranma's arms, "Oh, I was fine, Kasumi."

Kasumi frowned, "Well, if you want, I could sleep in your room."

"No, no.  Really.  That's OK.  I…I, uh, slept fine.  You don't have to go through the trouble," protested Akane.

"It wouldn't be any trouble at all," replied Kasumi.

Akane still couldn't get rid of her blush, "No, really, Kasumi.  It's OK."

Not thinking of the company present, Ranma off-handedly said, "Oh, come on Akane.  Just admit it.  You don't want Kasumi in the room because you want to sleep with me again."

The world came to a complete halt in the Tendo residence broken only by Akane whispering, "Baka."

Soun jumped up from his end of the table and started to vary his shouting from "OH, happy day." to "Ranma, how dare you touch my little girl!"  Genma soon joined in and the two fathers ran around Ranma and Akane, picked them up, and pushed them upstairs singing merrily the whole way.  Their children protested quite loudly.

"Dad, would you stop it!"

"Hey, Pops, gimme back my shirt!"

Akane found herself thrown into a half naked Ranma before being roughly shoved into her room, the door quickly slamming shut behind them.  There was a long pause before Ranma's disbelief shifted to anger.

He stalked to the door, whipping it open, "Damn it, Pops, I'm not…"

"Meow," the kitten called to Ranma.  Wide eyed, he quickly slammed the door and made a dash for the window.  In mid jump, he noticed several alley cats munching on fish treats conveniently spread on the Tendo lawn.  Ranma defied the law of gravity, clawing the air and windowsill to get back into the sanctity of Akane's room.

Akane could hear him gasp in breaths, picturing his terrified state.  Between the cat meows and his panicking noise, she could easily figure out what had happened.  With a sigh, Akane threw a pillow in his direction.  "There's a sleeping bag in the back of my closet.  You can sleep on the floor."

Ranma frowned at her, "Hey, how come I can't have the bed?"

"Because you opened your big mouth, that's why," Akane growled as she climbed under the covers.

Ranma wanted to point out that he slept there the other night and there wasn't a problem.  However, he felt Akane wouldn't be reasonable and decided the floor would be acceptable.  

--------------------------------------------------------------

End of Chapter 4!  Wow, I actually finished the chapter!!

Much more to come!


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